


The Plot That Thickens

by RandyQueen



Series: Finding Shiro [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: BAMF Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, I hope, Keeping Up With The Koganes, M/M, Slow Burn, Strategic lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-07-17 16:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16099424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyQueen/pseuds/RandyQueen
Summary: After Kuron left, Lance was contacted by someone. With new allies and a plot that shouldn't be too hard to figure out, the new Black Paladin has to step back up in his role as leader to stop Haggar for good.Set directly after 'What Isn't There Shall Be Found'NOW DISCONTINUED UNTIL FARTHER NOTICE





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about the long wait for this. I know I left it on a weird spot, but I hope that this will come to me as easily as the first one went.
> 
> So, without further ado, sit back, read, and hopefully enjoy!

Owernas was an abandoned planet in the Frehn belt that was a wormhole jump away. He couldn’t believe that his excuse about looking here for Kuron worked and that he went alone. He roamed the desolate streets, eyes roaming the ruins of the city. He had seen the Galra pilot ship outside the edge of town with a note that said to go to the dome building.

Lance came to the front door of the dome building. There was no door so he walked in with caution. He was skeptical about the whole ordeal. He had no clue who would be in the ranks with Haggar and willing to go against her.

He scanned the first floor and found nothing. He continued up to the second floor, checking every corner. He checked all of the rooms except for the last door in front of him. He knocked.

A bright, pink face popped through the door. “Hiya! Password please!” They said before the ducked back into the room. He heard groans and a giggle from the other side.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Voltron?” He guessed.

The door swung open and he got a better look at the pink face. “Ezor,” he stated. She giggled.

He looked in the rest of the room and saw Axca and Zethrid standing in the background. Zethrid leaned heavily against the wall, Axca stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed in a very Keith-like gesture.

“Axca, Zethrid,” he acknowledged.

“I thought we asked for the Black Paladin,” Axca said, completely passing the pleasantries.

“You did,” Lance affirmed, “and I came.”

“Last I heard, you were in the Red Lion,” she said. Her hip was cocked to the side.

“Man, you're just like your mother and brother,” Lance couldn’t help but comment on.

“Brother?” Axca asked. Her brow furrowed like Keith’s. “I have no brother and how do you know my mother?”

Lance rose his brows. “Krolia didn’t tell you about Keith? Your own twin?”

“Keith?”

“Keith Kogane, your twin brother who was raised on Earth, was formerly, and now currently, the Red Paladin,” Lance explained.

“I’ll have to talk to my mother, then,” Axca said, shuffling uncomfortably. “He has saved me before, inside the Weblum.” Lance nodded.

“So,” Lance leaned against the doorframe, “why did you ask for me?”

“Well, we were hoping for the Champion,” Zethrid muttered. Ezor nudged her with her elbow.

Lance’s face darkened. “He’s not the Champion anymore, nor is he the Black Paladin.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know that Haggar is using Shiro to spy on Voltron?” Ezor butted in.

“We already knew,” Lance said, feeling satisfaction as he saw Axca’s grin slip for a minute.

“How about Haggar’s plan to take control over Shiro and having him fight against your team?” Axca’s look of defeat had changed to a smug look.

“Shiro or Kuron?” Lance asked.

“Both,” Axca said, a grim look on her face now.

“Why should I believe you?”

Zethrid pushed off of the wall and stalked closer to Lance. “We didn’t voluntary work with the witch. It was either work with her or get killed.”

Lance narrowed his eyes. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s say that I believe you, what’s in it for us?”

“We’ll pass you information on where Haggar plans to attack and help you take her down from the inside,” Axca offered.

Lance just had to believe her then.

  
Lance left soon after. He contacted the castleship for a wormhole home. He was immediately bombarded with questions. When he was asked about Kuron, he said that he didn’t find him.

“I lied,” Lance stated. No need for any more excuses.

Brows furrowed. “What do you mean that you lied, Lance?” Allura asked.

Lance stood taller. “I met with Lotor’s old generals.”

Shiro snapped to attention. “You lied to us and went, by yourself might I add, to meet with people who tried to have us killed on multiple occasions.”

“Yes,” Lance said. “I didn’t tell you the truth because I knew that you wouldn’t let me go alone. I saw a potential ally and met them. I was asked to come alone, so I did.”

“You should have told us,” Shiro’s voice was stern.

“If I did, would you have let me go? No, you wouldn’t. So I took my own action and got us information that came straight from Haggar herself,” Lance argued.

Allura held a hand up. “Lance, you deliberately lied to us. You could have walked into a trap.”

“I was careful.”

“Things could have gone wrong.” She waved an arm through the air.

Lance didn’t reply. He wanted to not argue anymore. So he walked out of the room and to his room.

  
He had no destination in mind. He just needed to get away from the conversation that would have gone in circles. He made his way to his room.

Lance laid down on his bed to stare at the ceiling. His thoughts ran through what Shiro and Allura said. They were right, but Lance needed to make allies, even if he was walking into a trap. He was willing to take the risk.

Moments later, Keith stood in the open doorway. “Hey,” he said.

Lance turned his head to look at him only to quickly look away when he remembered what happened. His face burned at the memory. He sat up and patted the spot next to him. Keith sat down.

“So, uh, what brings you here?” Lance asked, trying to not sound awkward and failing.

Keith wrapped his arms around himself loosely. “Was Axca there?”

“Yeah,” Lance answered. “It was weird to be in this type of setting with her because I could tell that you and her are twins.”

  
“Really?” Keith turned towards Lance. His knee was so close to touching him.

Lance copied him, their knees now touching. “Oh, yeah. She has the same expressions and a similar attitude. You both do the crossed-arms-cocked-hip thing that Krolia does. You both have the same mannerisms.”

“Do you think that she would want to meet me?” Here comes the small voice that Lance hated to hear again. Keith’s hands were in his lap, his eyes down, and his body hunched.

Lance placed his hand on Keith’s knee. “Hey,” he waited until Keith looked up to continue, “she made it clear that Krolia didn’t tell her that you existed. She said that she was going to talk to your mom.”

Keith looked up at Lance through his lashes. Lance’s heart skipped a few beats. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Lance stressed.

Keith smiled. “Thank you,” he said, standing. He looked to the side before quickly leaning forward and pressing his lips to Lance’s cheek and fleeing.

Running through Lance’s head was ‘Lance.EXE has stopped working’. He had a hard time falling asleep that night.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance tells the team the truth, Lotor is suspicious, and study time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with Chapter 2! I apologize for the long wait, but my brain is deciding to majorly block my writing abilities at the moment. I plan on going on one post every week if I can write a chapter. 
> 
> Without further ado, Chapter 2

He didn’t get much sleep. Lance didn’t know how long he sat and stared at the ceiling as he committed the feeling of Keith’s lips on his cheek in his mind before he did fall asleep. His mind had crashed and was now attempting to reboot.

He woke up when his holopad buzzed with an incoming text.

 **Twineral**  
Have you told the team yet?

 **Black Paladin**  
No, I’ll do it at breakfast.

 **Twineral**  
They didn’t know that you were meeting us, did they?

 **Black Paladin**  
That would be correct.

 **Twineral**  
Sorry if we got you in trouble.

 **Black Paladin**  
Thank you, but It’s fine. I don’t think that they realize what’s at stake.

 **Twineral**  
Because you haven’t told them.

Lance set the holopad down. He realized the truth of the statement. He needed to find a way to tell the entire team what Haggar had planned with both Shiro and Kuron.

He stood from his bed, deciding that he needed to study up on his Galran more. He took the long route to avoid running into any of the team.

Lance pushed the door to the library open and walked to the language shelf. He was reaching for a Galran book when he noticed a book titled, “Ancient Druid Spells” on the shelf next to it.

His curiosity was peaked. Skipping the Galran book, he grabbed the druid one. Maybe there was something in here that could help. Something to figure out if what Axca was saying was true.

Instead of his usual seat, Lance went to the back of the library. He sat on the first chair he saw. Lance flipped the book open and searched for whatever spell Haggar used on Kuron and Shiro.

  
Honestly, Lance lost track of time. Vargas had passed since he opened the book. He looked up from the book when Hunk called over the intercom that it was time for breakfast. He stood with the book in hand.

After a quick stop to his room to drop the book off, Lance made his way to the dining room. There was a tense silence that fluttered around some conversations. Lance sat at his seat and made his plate.

Allura kept sending him looks, almost as if she wanted to talk to him but deciding at the last second to not say a word.

Lance decided to start what she wanted to say. “I met with Axca, Ezor, and Zethrid because I saw potential allies. I took caution when I went to the meeting place,” he said, waving his fork. “I was on alert the entire time. I talked with them and they seem to be on our side for now. Axca told me that Haggar has plans for using Shiro and Kuron against us.”

Complete and utter silence filled the table now. “She what?” Allura asked.

Shiro’s face had paled. “I think I need to follow in Kuron’s example.” Outbursts of protests started immediately after his statement. Shiro jerked back in surprise at such loud reactions.

“We are not losing you again,” Keith said, “you need to stay here and help us find Kuron so that we can figure out a way to free you from Haggar’s control.”

“I agree,” Lance announced. “I tried to tell Kuron, but he still left.”

Pidge pushed her glasses up. “Besides, with the brains of us all, we can figure it out quickly how to stop Haggar.”

Lotor, who Lance just noticed, spoke up too, “Haggar is ruthless. If she was truly using Kuron to spy on us, she may realize that he left and will soon seek to retaliate sooner rather than later.”

“I guess that we all agree,” Allura stood. The team nodded along with her. “Shiro, you are to stay and help us.”

Shiro looked down. “Okay.”

Lance got up from his seat, all eyes turned to him. Lance wasn’t used to this kind of attention. “I need to get something that may help, we are to meet on the bridge in twenty minutes.”

Lance got approvals from everyone and turned to leave for his room.

  
Lance had grabbed the druid book and made his way to the library to gather more books. He went back to the shelf that he found the book. None of the titles had to deal with any Altean magic.

“I put the book there so that you would see it,” a voice said from his side.

Lance didn’t need to turn to know that Lotor had talked to him. “Did you?”

“Yes, I also have other books of that nature in my quarters” Lotor stated. “Should I gather those?”

“We will be needing them to figure out what type of a hold Haggar has on Kuron and Shiro.”

Lotor tilted his head down in submission and left.

Lance frowned a bit. Why did Lotor show submission? And why was he being so helpful?

He decided to cast the thoughts from his mind and headed for the bridge.

  
Lance was the first one to the bridge. He stood in front of the window to look out into space. Never did he think that he would be here, fighting a space war. Nevertheless leading what was, in its own way, an army of fighters. If only his family could see him now.

Pidge was next to enter the room. “Hey Lance,” she said, sitting in her chair.

Hunk soon walked in and sat in his chair with a “hello.” The others slowly trickled in.

Lance was about to make his way to his old chair before he remembered. He leaned against the Black Lion console.

Lotor entered with a stack of books. “Where shall I put these?” He asked.

“Just set them in my chair, please.” Lance waved. The Emperor nodded and walked briskly to do that.

Lance saw the looks of confusion of his politeness to Lotor. Only last week was he saying that they shouldn’t trust Lotor, but the enemy of his enemy was his friend. “Thank you, Lotor,” he said. “Now, these books are Altean and Galran books on Druid magic.” Lance held up his book and indicated to the stack.

Shiro and Allura looked inquisitive. “You believe that Haggar did something to both Shiro and Kuron?” Allura asked.

“Yes, I haven’t gotten that far in the book yet, but I have reason to believe that in any of these books is the answer to fixing this,” Lance informed.

“You learned Galran and Altean?” Pidge bounced in her seat.

“Za, de ylok,” he responded.

“‘Yes, I did’,” Lotor translated from his spot next to Allura and Shiro at her workstation.

“How?” She asked. She had leaned so far forward in her seat that Lance felt that she was going to fall off.

“I used the same thing you did; that simulator and then I used an Altean to Galran book to learn Galran,” Lance replied with a shrug.

The team looked flabbergasted. “How long did it take you?” Hunk questioned.

“Like three weeks at least.”

Everyone blinked. Lance started to feel uncomfortable.

“Just how many languages do you know?” Keith looked flustered for some reason.

“Al,” Lance said, testing a theory. Keith turned redder. Lance held down his smug face; looks like something he could mess with.

“‘Many’,” Lotor, once again, translated.

“Only four languages now,” Lance admitted.

“Four?” Shiro asked.

“English, Spanish, Galran, and Altean,” Lance explained. “First Spanish, then English, then Altean, then Galran.”

“That’s so cool!” Matt said from his chair. Lance was surprised that he was being so quiet; it must be the shock of Shiro and Kuron.

“I’m sure it is, but we have some studying to be doing,” Lance said, grabbing the stack of books to hand out.

Groans of protest went about the room. “We don’t even know Altean!”

“You’ll figure it out,” Lance said, flipping to his page.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, the Castle has translators, Lance feels small, and some more tension is added to the mix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am terribly sorry for the long wait. The words just wouldn't come out. I thank everyone who patiently waited for the next chapter.
> 
> I'm currently writing the 5th chapter and hopefully, it starts to flow easier. WITSBF had taken me a month to write, but this one seems to want to take forever.
> 
> With that, how 'bout the shit show that was season 8?

Not even on Varga passed before Pidge and Hunk left to do some type of robotic project. Coran had to fix some part of the castle soon after. Shiro had gone to bed. The only ones left were Lotor, Allura, Keith, Matt, and Lance.

“I am so glad that the ship has translators, or I would be long gone,” Matt commented from Pidge’s chair. He was sitting upside down, his hair hanging and almost touching the floor. Lance didn’t know when he switched chairs.

“I wasn’t expecting the translators,” Shiro added. 

Lance nodded along. “All this time and I didn’t have to learn two more languages.” 

“It’s a… Useful skill,” Keith said, blush on his face. 

“Sure is.” Lance felt smug again. 

“Anyway,” Shiro cut in, “I say that we continue research tomorrow.” 

Lance saw the others agree with the man and something deep settled in him. “I agree,” Lance said with a false cheeriness, staying behind.

 

Soon enough, Lance was the only one in the room with the books. After the others left, Lance had gathered the books and began to flip through them as if he was trying to study for an exam.

Pages upon pages of druidic magic were spread out in front of him. Every spell had similarities and contradictories that he was surprised that Haggar had managed to weave the spell. Haggar must have made her own spell. If only he had her spellbook.

Lance sighed deeply, tilting his head back to stare into the ceiling of the Castleship. Once again, he was struck by the vastness of the vessel. It emphasized one’s smallness. 

He looked back at the books, his mind elsewhere. The team still followed Shiro subconsciously. Lance understood that it would take some time to get used to the new switch. He just didn’t expect the team to respond as quickly as they did. He was interrupted from his thoughts by his holopad beeping 

**_Twineral_ **

_You still haven’t answered._  

**_Black Paladin_ **

_I told them and now we are trying to stop it._  

**_Twineral_ **

_The witch plans to attack Dridaen within two quintants._

**_Black Paladin_ **

_Thanks for the information._

He set the holopad down, rubbing his face. There was so much to do in so little time it seemed. He picked up the holopad again and opened the space map. Kuron left the ship the day before and he took one of the pods. He had taken out the tracker and now disappeared.

The last known location was in the Vlipacrean Belt. Which happened to be where Dridaen was located. Lance now knew the reason Haggar was attacking Dridaen. She must have known Kuron was there.

He stood and bookmarked the pages of all of the books. After he gathered them, he went to his room to drop them off. The stacks of books made it slightly difficult to open his door, but he managed.

His next destination was the dining room. Everyone was bound to be there for lunch.

Sure enough, most of the team were in the dining room. “Hey, Lance!” Hunk beamed from his seat. Something resembling spaghetti sat in a bowl.

“Spaghetti for lunch?” Lance asked, sitting in his seat.

“It’s the closest I could make it,” the Yellow Paladin shrugged. “It’s like a mix between garlic bread and spaghetti at the same time.”

Lance grabbed the spoon and put some in his bowl. He took a bite, his face twisting in a thoughtful way. “That’s exactly how it tastes like.”

“I wonder how though,” Pidge said. She pushed her glasses up. “I like it and all, but I’m curious as to why it tastes like an entire meal.”

 “I do find this spagaitee pleasing to eat,” Allura added, butchering the name of the dish.

 “spah-GEH-tee,” Hunk sounded out, sounding as if he had told her multiple times.

 “Spagettai,” Allura said with a nod.

 “Close enough,” Hunk mumbled.

 Lance laughed and continued his eating. “Where are Keith, Shiro, and Coran?”

 “Somewhere in the castle,” Pidge waved a hand to the side.

 “Oh, okay,” Lance nodded. “When you see them can you pass on that I’m calling a debriefing in four Vargas.”

 “Yeah, we can do that,” Hunk agreed. “What’s the meeting going to be about?”

 “I’ll explain it when everyone is together because it would be easier to explain at once,” Lance explained, standing to put his bowl in the sink. “I’m going to train before the debriefing so you know where to find me.”

 “Okay,” Hunk said, dragging out the word. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

Lance moved quickly. The Gladiator was set to level one because of his new blade. He still needed to get used to it.

 He planted his feet and raised his blade. The Gladiator leaped forward and Lance ducked while moving his blade up.

 The bot fell to the left to avoid the attack. Lance quickly stood, looking for an opening it the Gladiator’s defense. He knew that he could use his new weapon to his advantage if he could time it right.

 In a moment, Lance had a plan. He swung at the left of the bot. It blocked its side weakly, leaving the right wide open for Lance to quickly flip the other side of his blade up and slicing the bot in half.

 Where the two pieces of the bot sat. The ground opened to collect it. Lance huffed a laugh. He was getting the hang of this weapon rather quickly if he could say so himself.

 “You need to widen your stance,” a voice said. Keith.

 Lance spun to face him. “ _Yoza.”_

“Huh?” Keith reddened.

 It took Lance a moment to register that he spoke Galran and Keith’s apparent _affixation_ for languages. “Sorry, I said “hello”.”

 Keith hummed. “Hello to you too. How long have you had that blade?”

 “When Kuron gave me the bayard, this is the form it took.” Lance twirled it.

 “I've trained with a few Blades who had that type of weapon, “ Keith said.

 Lance set himself into a fighting stance. “Let’s see what you got.”


	4. Chapter 4

“I totally won that fight!” Lance exclaimed.

 

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? Because your trip in the Cryopod says otherwise.”

 

“I fell and hit my head,” Lance said. “Not my fault.”

 

The Red Paladin shook his head. “It does sound like your fault.”

 

Lance chose not to respond to that. “How is it that you got so much better in so little time?”

 

“A lot of training,” Keith admitted. “The Blades had a constant schedule where we trained a bunch of times a day.”

 

“I should do something like that.” Lance tilted his head. “Have a sort of system where everyone has a slotted time for each Paladin.”

 

He got a blank look from Keith. “No one would follow that.”

 

“Everyone but Pidge would,” Lance argued.

 

“You got me there,” the other agreed.

 

Silence settled around them. It was slightly awkward for Lance. He took out his holopad and checked the time. “We’ve gotta get to the debriefing.”   
  


“Debriefing?”

 

Lance slotted a look at Keith. “Have you ran into Hunk today?”

 

Keith shook his head. “Not today, I’ve mostly been in my room.”

 

The Black Paladin nodded and the two set their way to the mission room. Everyone was waiting for them.

 

Lance took a stance in front of the team. “Acxa has informed me that Haggar plans to attack Dridaen two quintants from now.”

 

“How are we going to help?” Allura asked.

 

With a wave of his hand, a map of the Vlipacrean Belt showed up. “This is where Dridaen is located, the Vlipacrean Belt. I believe Haggar is attacking because this is Kuron’s last known location.”

 

Shiro tensed. “That makes sense. Haggar wouldn’t want to lose her weapons.”

 

“Exactly,” Lance agreed. As much as he didn’t want to call Shiro or Kuron weapons, that is what they were. “As you see, Dridaen is a compact planet with a high population. This is a place to go where no one asks questions about anyone. Kuron may have gone there to lose us and Haggar.”

 

“But is it stable for a human?” Pidge asked.

 

“Actually, Kuron is half-Galra,” Hunk reminded her. “Who knows what environments he can survive in.”

 

Matt leaned forward. “Dridaen actually has a small rebel post used for trading.”

 

“I say that one of us go there in a discreet ship to scout it and when Haggar comes, we can group back together and fight back,” Lance said.

 

“It could work,” Coran started, “but we should have at least two people scout.”

 

Lance nodded. “Of course.” He looked at the team, calculating the best two suited for the mission.

 

“Keith and Shiro will go,” Lance decided. “Keith has stealth training from the Blades and Shiro has his skills. You can pose as brothers who are looking for Kuron, Shiro’s twin.”

 

“That will actually work better than what I had planned,” Pidge said. She crossed her arms. “I was gonna suggest that Hunk and Allura go for their diplomatic abilities.”

 

‘It would work, but we need to make sure that there aren’t any of Haggar’s men around. If it were needed, Keith can take out them quickly and quietly,” Lance explained.

 

Shiro looked as if he was going to inject, but Keith elbowed him. It was most likely an interjection about Shiro going in.

 

Lance looked to the team. “If anything goes wrong, you two,” he points to them, “get back here immediately and we form Voltron.”

 

“Got it,” Shiro said. Keith did a mock salute before they went to the hangar to fly out.

 

“What will the rest of us do?” Allura asked.

 

“We wait for now,” Lance shrugged.

 

“I found some Altean movies that I was able to subtitle,” Pidge said. She bounced on her toes in excitement.

 

Lance moved forward. “If they asked, we trained.”

  
  


“That sentence is actually “farewell, my Prince,” not “see you, my brother”,” Lance corrected.

 

Pidge gave a considering look at the screen. “It makes sense more sense with the correct translation. It confuzzled me when they-”

 

“No spoilers!” Lance cried. “I’ll help with the translations, but please no spoilers.”

 

“Can we please watch the movie in silence,” Hunk asked from the floor. Lance and Pidge had rushed to take over the couch, leaving Allura to perch on the armrest next to Pidge and Hunk to the floor.

 

Lance's helipad buzzed. He pulled it out to see a message from Keith 

 

**Samurai**

_ Nothing seemed to be happening here. Haggar may not have come yet. We're still looking around and asking the locals about Kuron. _

 

**Sharpshooter**

_ Okie dokie. Stay for a little longer, scout some hideouts for a stealthy attack if necessary. _

 

**Samurai**

_ Will do  _

 

**Sharpshooter**

_ Stay safe  _

 

**Samurai**

_ Of course  _

 

“You texting your girlfriend?” 

 

Lance jumped at Pidge's voice. “Nope.”

 

“Don't deny it,” she said. 

 

“Axca has yet to send any more intel. It was Keith checking in,’ Lance defended himself.

 

“Ah, so your boyfriend,” Matt joined.

 

Lance reddened. “Not my boyfriend.”

 

He was saved by more humiliation when his tablet dinged. He opened the conversation with Axca.

 

**_Twineral_ **

_ She’s attacking tomorrow at 0500 Vargas _

 

**_Black Paladin_ **

_ Okay. Does she have a clue that we are corresponding? _

 

**_Twineral_ **

_ Not at the moment. She may have an inkling of a traitor after this attack. Not too much to worry about, but it will plant an idea in her head. After a few times, she will know and start to weed us out. _

 

**_Black Paladin_ **

_ Paragraphs now? Anyways, It may be beneficial if we spread out the intel shared. Not in a pattern, but random times. It will give more time to undermine the witch if it wasn’t consistent.  _

 

**_Twineral_ **

_ Contrary to belief, I can speak more than a few sentences at a time. Your idea may work. Talk it over with the team, come to a conclusion, and then let us know. _

 

**_Black Paladin_ **

_ I’ll have to see to that in the future and I will talk it over with them. I’ll get back to you soon. _

 

**_Twineral_ **

_ Hiya, Lance!~ Ezor _

 

**_Black Paladin_ **

_ Hi, Ezor _

 

**_Twineral_ **

_ She took the tablet away from me. _

 

**_Black Paladin_ **

_ I guessed that. _

 

**_Twineral_ **

_ Be sure to decide soon _

 

Lance set the tablet down. “Back to the bridge.”

 

The group groaned but complied. “We need to to be briefed on some new Intel I was given.” Lance led the way to the bridge.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I regret to say that I have lost interest in this story. The chapters aren't coming as easily as the did in the first fic. If I ever get inspiration for this story again, I may add it to this.
> 
> Thank you for all that have stuck with me this long.

Keith and Shiro were on the screen. Lance had set up the call as soon as he walked in. “What’s going on?” Keith asked with a small frown on his face.

 

“We’ve got more info from Axca,” Lance explained. “Haggar plans to attack tomorrow at 0500 Vargas. We also discussed a plan for the info gathering. I would like your input on the matter.”

 

“What’s the plan?” Matt crossed his arms.

 

“Instead of getting Haggar’s plan for each battle, we thought it would be best if we didn’t know about  _ every _ battle and randomize when Axca would give the information. Like this, Lotor’s generals wouldn’t be found so easily or quickly,” Lance said.

 

Shiro hummed. “It could work, only I would like to know every time Haggar attacks.” Agreements rose from the table.

 

“If we knew every attack, she would know that we have an inside person. It dangers Axca, Ezor, and Zethrid if we got continuous information,” Hunk added. “Just a thought.” 

 

“That’s what I was thinking,” Lance said. “I want to protect our allies as well as still stop Haggar at certain battles.”

 

The Black Paladin looked to everyone. There were thoughtful looks on their faces. “May we have more time to think on this?” Allura asked, looking particularly troubled.

 

“Of course. No need to rush your decision too much,” Lance agreed. “Back to the main reason for the briefing.”

 

“What are we to do?” Shiro asked.

 

“Keith, Shiro, I need you to come back as soon as possible,” there were a few exclamations, “right now, protecting Dridaen is our main priority. I know we also were looking for Kuron. We’ll have to search another time.”

 

“We’ll be there in half a Varga,’ Keith affirmed.

 

“Okay, when you two get back, we’re going to have a quick team training session.” Lance ignored the groan from Pidge.

 

“Copy that, over and out.” The screen went black.

 

Pidge let out a giggle. “Did Keith really say “over and out”?” 

 

“Yup,” Hunk said.

 

Lance shook his head at his team's antics. “Forty-one doboshes from now, I want us to all to be in the training room. Feel free to do anything until then.”

  
  


Lance decided to go to the war room. He pulled up all the battles and deciphered which of the battles were most likely to have the witch behind it. He combed through many, many, many fights before he found four of the most likely situations. Sadly, they were all from their early times with Voltron.

 

He sighed deeply, staring at the plans. These would have to do for now until they had more confirmation on which of their fights Haggar did. They were the only ones with a chance with the ships appearing with no prior warning.

 

A beeping interrupted his thinking. The Black Paladin took his holopad out and canceled the timer. With a few swipes, the battle strategies were on the holopad. He had to show the team to have them understand her standard attacks.

 

He walked to the training room, still looking over his tablet. When he entered the room he was pleased to see that the team listened to his instructions. Everyone stood together, chatting about something that Lance didn’t hear.

 

“Alright,” Lance said as he set the tablet next to the door, “before we begin, I will let you know that I have noticed that each and every one of us have a weakness with combat, in and out of combat.”

 

The team stood at attention. “What kind of weaknesses?” Shiro asked.

 

Lance squared his shoulders. “Has anyone, other than myself, trained with weapons that are provided by their bayards?”

 

“I’ve had a little training with blasters at the Blade,” Keith said.

 

“Good. The purpose of this training session is to fight against someone who has a different weapon range as you. Next session will be with other weapons,” Lance instructed.

 

“What do you mean by “other than myself”?” Pidge asked. Lance could have sworn he saw a smirk on Keith’s face at her question.

 

“That will be shown very soon,” Lance said. “Now I have assigned pairs for the moment.”

 

Soon, Hunk was with Allura, Pidge with Keith, and Lance with Matt. Shiro stood to the side to referee.

Lance shifted his Bayard to the blaster form, setting it to give a slight shock. “Sorry about this, Rebel.”

 

“I need a challenge anyway.” Matt shrugged as he unclipped his staff from his belt.

 

“Oh, I will be,” Lance boasted.

 

Matt swung first and Lance danced to the side. He shot at Matt’s feet to unbalance him. The rebel jumped out of the way. Matt advanced on Lance quickly. With a flash, a dulled version of his Altean sword appeared.

 

There was a gasp from a Pidge and Hunk when it appeared. Matt clearly hadn’t expected Lance to counter his attack with a sword. A clash was heard as their weapons collided. 

 

“Ready to give?” Lance taunted.

 

Matt’s lips tilted up. “Nope. What about you?”

 

“Not in the slightest.” Lance pushed his sword forward a little and when Matt pressed back harder, he dropped his sword and moved back quickly. Matt stumbled forward at the loss of pressure.

 

The two circled each other, gauging who would move next. Lance shifted his Bayard back to a blaster and fired shots at Matt’s feet again. The rebel moved towards the Black Paladin, weapon poised for a low attack.

 

Lance laughed as his newest weapon materialized. The reactions of all the occupants were worth it. Matt stopped in his tracks when he saw the dual ended blade. Lance spun it in his hand, the blade lining with his arm behind his back. 

 

“Scared, Holt?” Lance asked.

 

Matt huffed. “You wish.” Lance thought he heard a snort that sounded like Pidge. 

 

Lance decided to be on the offense this time. Matt was tiring from his attacks and it was a prime time to attack. He lunged at his opponent, swiftly send a series of strikes. Most of which hit the intended target.

 

“Okay, you’ve got me,” Matt conceded. He dropped his staff on the ground.

 

Lance put his Bayard away and held a hand to him. “You did good.”

 

“How is it that I’ve been training for three years and you’ve managed to beat me with two years of training?” Matt asked as he took Lance hand and shaking it.

 

“Intense training every day,” Lance said. 

 

“How long have you had the sword?” Pidge asked as she bounded up to them. 

 

“A few months.”

 

“And the double edge blade?”

 

“I unlocked it yesterday.”


End file.
